


Stains On Our Skin

by MagieFish



Series: Stains [4]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, And Linda ain’t having none of it, Apologies for dramatic summary, Bendy Animatronic is present, Bendy In Nightmare Run Characters, Bertrum is salty, Body Horror, Gen, I tried my best, Joey is the ultimate jerk, Or very poor versions of them, So is the ink bowl creature that showed up near Shawn Flynn’s recording, Tags shall be updated along the way, Understandably, good ending, i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-08-11 00:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16465505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagieFish/pseuds/MagieFish
Summary: It’s been two years since Henry Stein dissapeared and Minette gets curious about what happened to her father. Unfortunately, there may be some secrets best left alone.Minette and her family are now wrapped up in the inky hell hidden within Joey Drew Studios. Will they ever find Henry in the inky abyss, or will they too be consumed by the screaming well of voices?(Work has been discontinued)





	1. Lies, Love And Loss.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minette loves Uncle Joey. Or did, until today.

A girl sifted through a trunk, searching for something. She briefly examined a piece of paper before tossing it into the pile of random objects nearby. Finally, she found something she was looking for. A very dusty photograph, cobwebs clutching to in an attempt to drag it back to the darkness. She blew on it. Underneath was a smiling man, the wrinkles and old age gone from his face. She smiled, feeling as of he was returning it. Wheels creaked before footsteps softened by slippers approached. She stood up and hid the picture behind her back.  A silhouette appeared in the doorway, switching on the light to reveal an old man with grey eyes.

“Minette, What are you doing in here?”, Joey questioned, knowing full well what she was doing.

“Well, Uncle Joey, I was merely trying to find a Bendy doll.”, She glanced at the pile and faked surprise, “Oh look! There it is!”

Joey laughed and put an arm around her shoulder.

“You have a liars tongue Minette.”, Joey sighed, leading her out of the room.

“Mum says I got it from you!”, Her face fell, “Mum doesn’t like me being around you...”

“Well, She has her reasons.”

He sat in his wheelchair, old bones creaking. She walked along side him as they made their way to his small kitchen. Cars zoomed about outside their window, a church bell ringing elsewhere. Minette hopped into a chair, grinning. The photo was slipped into her bag, unnoticed.

“So Joey, have you got any stories you’d like to tell me?”, She asked, mind drifting to the pictures nearby.

“Unfortunately, no. I’m...not really feeling up to it.”

“Is it because Dad vanished today?”, She asked, solemnly.

Joey nodded, his gaze elsewhere. It had been two years since Henry Stein’s disappearance. Minette was only 9 at the time, so the loss was hard. She missed him so much. But it was nothing compared to her mother. Everyday it ate away at her bit by bit. Soon, there would be nothing left but a frail husk. Of course, Uncle Barney and Auntie Charlotte did their best to take of her. Beatrice too. She often took care of her while her mother was working late. And Joan came over a lot. Joan was cool. She loved Joan. She took her to school, made her food occasionally, took her shopping. She filled her mother’s void. Most of the time, mum was probably over at some bar, getting drunk and crying. She perked up when Joey finally spoke.

“Well, guess what!”

“What?”

“Linda needs some time alone, so you get to stay over for the night!”, Joey said, doing some jazz hands.

“YES!!!”, Minette cried, pumping the air with her fist.

“Would you like to see the room?”, Joey asked.

Together they walked and wheeled to the room. It was small, tucked just out of view. Shelves lined the walls, and Minette was sure it was a storage closet with a bed shoved in for good measure. Relics littered the walls. Tapes, photos, drawings. To a girl like her, this spider infested closet was heaven. Joey smiled to himself as she went to examining a toy straight away and shut the door. Minette had no idea how long she spent in there, pouring over the items. She didn’t leave a single corner unturned. Once she had polished off the shelves, leaving the contents scattered about, she dragged out boxes from under her bed. She opened it, the dust and grit flying into her face. She giggled, picking up a photograph. It was two young boys she quickly identified as her father and uncle, standing in front of a lake. They looked so happy. She stroked it. A ticklish feeling went up her arm and she saw a rather large and hairy spider scuttling along it.

“AH!!”, She screamed, leaping to her feet, dropping the photo, “GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!!!”

She desperately brushed every part of her body, blinded to the lack of a spider. She snapped out when she heard a loud crack. Looking down, she gasped in horror at the sight of the cracked photograph. She cradled it in her hands. Oh no no no no no! Joey’s gonna be so mad! Then she noticed something quite odd. Peeking out beneath some shattered glass was an odd yellow. Brushing aside shards, she picked out the old faded photo and was greeted by a peculiar sight. Inside the frame, lay some sort of letter. She removed it, rotated it and read.

**Dear Henry,**

**It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. 30 years really slips by, doesn’t it? If you’re back in town, come visit the old workshop. There’s something I need to show you.**

**Your best pal, Joey Drew.**

Puzzled, she flipped it over. There was an address on it. But the most important detail was the date. Her eyes widened at the date. _25th October 1963. The day before my father vanished._  She stood up instantly, her head snapping to the door. She threw it open, running to the kitchen. The sends of bacon drifted from it, but she ignored it’s comforting embrace. Joey turned his head and smiled.

“Hello Minette! I’m just making some bacon soup!”, The glee vanished as he saw her face, “What’s wrong?”

She held up the letter. Joey took it, his face darkening as he eyes went over the details.

“What is this!!??”, She yelled accusingly.

“It’s nothing dear!”, He retaliated, a new smile on his face, “Just a letter I sent your father!”

“It came the day before he vanished and was being hidden from me! That’s totally not suspicious at all!”

He scowled at her and tore it down the middle, sideways, once more. Each one made her flinch. He crumpled it up into a ball and tossed it into the trash. He looked back at her. His eyes filled with sorrow. Minette felt her heart sink.

“If I tell you, you cannot see me and cannot tell you mother anything.”

She nodded, vision blinded with rage. They sat at the table, either side. Joey fiddled with his fingers for a bit, before asking.

“Do you know what happened to my studio?”

She nodded. She knew from her mother and the various pieces of information lying about.

“You know the story then. Failure, bankruptcy, and now I’m here. But there’s a bit more.”, He took a pause before continuing, “I tried to bring my cartoons into reality.”

“But that’s impossible!”, Minette exclaimed.

“It is. Well, sort of. You see, my family managed to get their hands on some very.....interesting texts. One of which was a spell which could bring something fictional to life. I set to work straight away, hiring 3 workmen from a company called Gent. I demanded one of theirs secrecy. The second was let in in few details. The third was left oblivious. We attempted to make Bendy using my ink machine. It was a failure. The creature it made wore the mask of Bendy, but I assure you, it was a monster through and through. One stated it didn’t have a soul. I reread the texts and it did state that it need a sacrifice. I had tried a substitute before, but it looked like there was no other choice. I gave it a soul, Minette.”

She clasped a hand over her mouth as Joey stared at nothing. Sorrow and guilt lined his face as he summoned the strength to continue.

“And I kept going. I gave creations souls until the studio closed. But it wasn’t just bankruptcy that did it. The machine...it began to make a world WITHIN the studio. I checked on it 4 years ago. The whole place looked like a drawing. It had begun spreading outside too, and I feared that if it was left unchecked it could consume all of New York City. So, I got in contact with Mr Wally Franks. Charlotte’s sister, Beatrice’s wife. He went into the studio at his free will. He was aware of the dangers. He died. Thomas and Allison Pendle were next. Thomas was dragged in by Allison. Yet again, they died. That place does not simply let you go. Ever since I went back to the studio, it latched onto me. My dreams, thoughts, drawings, it haunts them all. I feared that I may soon be consumed by it as well. One night, I had a dream. It was about Henry. Except he looked like Bendy. A perfect Bendy. I knew what this meant. He was the only one who could stop this madness. I wrote him a letter, lured him in. I was certain he’d prevail. He didn’t. But he did. He is stuck in an endless loop, neither alive or dead. By now he cannot escape alone. Every time, he loses his humanity just a bit more. There is one option that may work.”

“And what’s that?”, Minnette asked quietly, afraid of what she would hear.

“A human would have to go inside and retrieve him.”, His grave voice replied, “It would be incredibly dangerous, and would break the cycle. Meaning that, once you’re dead, you’re dead. No coming back.”

Minutes passed in the suffocating silence. Clock ticks came from far away. Minette looked up at her uncle. Her green eyes were filled with a sad determination. Just like her fathers.

“I’ll go and rescue him. But, I ask for one thing.”

“What?”, Joey asked, face pale.

“I want a group to go with me. Including you.”

Joey stared in disbelief at Minette stone face.

“That’s insane! You can’t drag you’re family down there, they could die!”

“AND THEY’D DIE ANYWAY IF I DID!”, She yelled, knocking over her chair as she stood up, “Please.....They need this closure.”

Joey pondered this for a moment. He sighed, moving to his wheelchair.

“Alright. I’ll call your mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OCs. OCs everywhere. So, yeah, peeps gonna go into the studio to rescue the Henry boy. Hopefully. ...... Joey is an idiot.


	2. Inferno

Minette stood before a filthy mirror twisting hair around her finger. She tried to look a bit nicer today, even cleaning her glasses. Her fingers shook. She’s clenched her hands into fists to try and calm her nerves. It didn’t work. Someone knocked at the door. Minette rushed to open it, a brief smile going across her face to be polite. Linda looked down at her with tired eyes. Her messy hair was held up by a rushed ponytail, what looked like wine staining her skirt. Smudged makeup lay on her face hurriedly applied upon tear stains.

“Hello Minette.”, She croaked, attempting a smile.

“Hi mum.”, She said through a deceivingly happy voice, “Is Joan here?”

A girl of around the age of 18 pocked out her head from behind her disappointed mum. A bowler hat was positioned precariously on her head, a wide stupid grin on her face. Her eyes shone with joy, a ray of sunshine in an otherwise unforgiving world

“Greetings Min.”, She shoved past Linda, affectionately rubbing the child’s head, “How have you been?”

“I’ve been great!! Uncle Joey made some bacon soup for everyone!!”

“Cool.....Hey, you want a piggy back?”

Minnette nodded. Joan was about to help her onto her back when a man interrupted. He had a fedora atop his head and grey eyes she knew he loathed. 

“Okay, no.”, Barney sternly said to the two, “This place is crowded enough as it is, we don’t want any accidents.”

“Dad, you know I can carry her.”

“Yes, but before we know it you’ll have tripped over a chair or something.”

“He’s right dear.”, Charlotte cut in before turning her attention to Minette, “Hello dear!”

Her black curls bounced on her shoulders, emerald green eyes like her daughters providing a shred of hope to her.

“Hi.....”, She scowled at her mother, “Mum, you said it would be just you.”

“Did you really think we’d miss out on a chance to slap Joey?”, A woman with a thick Brooklyn accent and greying brown hair asked.

“*sigh*, No Beatrice. Look, can you just go?”

“Is there something wrong with our presence?”, Charlotte asked, concern lining her face.

“Yes actually.”

All heads looked to very grumpy man in a wheelchair. He was glaring accusingly at Linda. She crossed her arms. A quick glance over the arranged people, stopping as he locked eyes with Barney. What looked like shock and a hint of fear briefly passed across his face before transforming into spite.

“Brother.”, He growled.

Barney gave no answer, only grabbing Charlotte’s hand. She narrowed her eyes. Joey raised an eyebrow at her attempts to seem menacing, once more focusing on Linda.

“Linda, Who are these people?”

“Allow me to introduce myself.”, Charlotte let go of Barney’s hand and extended one to him, “I am Charlotte Franks, Barney’s wife.”

Joey stared at her hand like it was some alien creature. She gestured to the two other woman, a fake smile plastered on her face as she said in a bitter tone.

“This is Joan Drew your niece and Beatrice Franks my sister in law.”

She said it slowly, like Joey would have a hard time understanding it. It seemed this was the case, as he sat in silence, unable to muster words. Joan raised an eyebrow at her father. He just shrugged in response, seemingly taking immense pleasure in the man’s lack of words. A smile twitched across Joey’s face as he shakily gestured to the kitchen.

“Would anyone like some bacon soup?”

* * *

 

The group sat around the table, some staring in disgust at the thing in the bowl while others ate it slowly, face scrunching up and relaxing as they tried to be polite. And then there was Joan, Who was promptly pouring the contents of the bowl into her mouth. Linda swirled around the mixture with a spoon, lifting up chunks before placing them back down. 

“So...”, She asked, finally breaking the silence, “Why are we here?”

Everyone looked at Joey. He passed the gaze over to Minette. She knew exactly what she was asking him. She nodded sadly and looked at her mother. Words came from her dry throat, a knot beginning to form in her stomach.

“You know how yesterday marked dad’s disappearance.”

Silence at the table. Well, apart from Joan’s gasping as she chocked on the soup. Linda stared at her daughter with an intensity that could be mistaken for rage, but was not.

“Of course I do. Why is that important?”

Minette struggled to form words, the tables residents eyes burning into her. The searing heatincreased until she was forced to spit out the words. She felt the story rushing from her mouth like molten lava, burning everyone’s hearts. Her ‘Uncle’ watched the people reactions, regret lining his face. She could tell he wanted her to shut up. But she couldn’t. It poured and poured and poured until her throat was coarse. Everyone’s faces were moulded differently. Fear, horror, shock, sadness. But one was most prominent as they turned their gaze to the cowering man.

“You. Did. WHAT.”, Linda asked, trembling with the rage.

“Well, no, yes, kind of, it’s complicated, um, they’re all trapped in uh, cartoon bodies?...”

A steaming stain splattered across the wall and porcelain shattered beside his head. Linda stood up, face completely red.

“YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!!!!!!”

Swears flew like bullets at Joey as she lost all control. Tears poured from her maddened eyes as she hurled knives and forks at him. He dodged and ducked under every one, trying to desperately reason with her within the chaos. Minette watched in horror as her mother stormed passed her and shoved Joey out of his wheelchair. The other adults finally took action, trying to hold her back. Joan and Minette werebacked against the wall as a storm raged in the apartment, hate and spite and remorse suffocating everyone. Her mother was dragged away, stillest screaming. A door shut elsewhere, the yells a distant truth. Time stood still in that room. Minette felt a burning feeling push against her eyes. Something drifted down her cheeks as miserable gasps escaped her. Arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace. A muffled voice guided her away, to somewhere safe. The door closed and they were trapped in their own little hell together, waiting out the storm.

* * *

 

What felt like hours later, there was a knock on the door. Joan opened it a crack and was greeted by a rather dishevelled Beatrice. What looked like tear stains were on her face, though they were well disguised by her confident voice.

“It’s okay to come out now.”, She told them, standing aside to let them come through.

They passed by, Joan asking how she was. She said she was fine. Minette could tell she wasn’t. The adults sat around the dinner table, Linda as far away from Joey as possible. They were sat far away too. _They clearly don’t want us near him. I don’t blame them._ Beatrice spoke to them in that same deceiving voice. Her eyes told everyone the truth. Maybe that’s why she just stared at the wall.

”After much discussion, we have come to the conclusion that we should go and find Henry.”

Joey tried to say something but was quickly shut down by a few glares. Linda raised a point about calling the police, but was given the argument that the police never found him the first time. A few questions and retaliations went back and forth but all were pointless.

“It’s not like a search party dissapeared INSIDE the studio or anything...”, Joey grumbled.

”For once, I have to agree with Joey on this.”, Barney reluctantly said, “I think it’s too dangerous to look for him-“

Linda banged her fist on the table, sending a clear message to him. She stood up and looked at the various expressions. 

“We leave at dawn. Grab whatever you need and don’t be late.”

She snatched Minette’s wrist and dragged her from the room. She looked at the faces one last time before wood blocked them out.


	3. Descend.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group descends into the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, I often lose track of them in long pieces like this.

October’s cold jaws nipped at Minettes face. Her breath clouded her glasses, a scarf pulled up over her face. Her mother stood at a distance, impatiently awaiting the others. Her face was grave but determined, something that looked like hope shining in her tired eyes. Minette yawned. The dawns light did nothing to warm her face. The only thing keeping her awake by now was the thought of meeting her father again. She hoped she wouldn’t be down in that studio for long. It would probably be infested with spiders and monsters of all shapes and sizes. Ink would be everywhere too and she knew better than anyone that it was a pain to get off. She had to throw away a pair of perfectly good clothes because she spilt two of dad’s inkwells on herself. In 4 days it was going to be Halloween. She really hoped she didn’t miss it. If there was any holiday she wanted to celebrate with her father when he got back, it would be Halloween. _If he gets back._ A voice inside her head corrected her. A spike of doubt stabbed her chest. She snapped out of it once she saw a figure waving in the distance. She waved back at Joan, Who had a bag in her hand. Her mother had a satchel hanging from her shoulder, her father holding a briefcase. Linda gave them a disapproving look.

”How much food did you bring?”

”Enough to feed about 6 people for a week.”, Charlotte answered, “And have you brought the storage bag and equipment?”

”Of course I have.”, Linda snapped, “Don’t you think all that foods a bit excessive? It’ll weigh all of us down! Plus, there isn’t even enough for Henry.”

Charlotte’s face was lined with a frown, “Oh. I...didn’t really think of that.”

”You ladies are aware we are literally about to head into Hell right?”, Barney asked both of them.

They heard footsteps approaching. They all turned to see Beatrice running towards them. Her skirt flipped wildly about her waist, her bag occasionally bumping into it. She stopped, catching her breath. There were heavy shadows beneath her eyeshadow. She reached into her bag and pulled out some blueprints.

“Alright, this is a side view of Joey Drew Studios, going from floor 1 to 38.”

”38!!??”

”Yes Joan, 38. I’ve looked over every blueprint and map I could find and did calculations overnight. Assuming we go at and average pace and assuming the lifts are functional, going from the top to bottom floor would take about 6 minutes, without stopping, monster encounters, lack of elevators, injuries or something like luggage slowing us down. But, seeing as there’s will definitely be monsters, definitely be lift malfunctions and definitely be luggage, it should take 4 or 5 hours. Now, that isn’t counting the possibility of imprisonment, injury and......well.....death.”

Everyone looked at her in grave silence. Linda pulled out a checklist from her bag. Various items like torches and rope were ticked off already. Also the empty bag which Minette was currently holding. 

“Let’s see, canned food, check. Water? Check. Maps, check. And.....where’s Joey?”

Everyone realised that there was a lack of Drew. They looked about. Barney went to a nearby phone box and called him, but to no avail. After searching and calling for him, they had to accept defeat. Minette’s heart sunk in her chest. Linda rolled her eyes and went to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. She let out an annoyed noise and kicked the door. Beatrice pulled her aside and reached into her pocket. Keys were produced and slipped into an old and dusty lock.

”How do you have those?”, Minette asked.

”Oh, well, Wally lost his keys once and never found them, then got a new pair from Joey, then lost those, then got another pair, then found the 1st pair of keys.”, She chuckled at the memory, “He always did things like that. When he was around anyway.”

The door creaked open. Everyone stared in confusion at the massive hole before them. 

“I take it that that’s not meant to be there?”, Joan said, Beatrice nodding in response.

The adults approached it, Minette lagging behind. They talked amongst themselves, Joan fiddling with her hat in an anxious manner. Minette looked at the ground. It was quite odd but it seemed that no one else had noticed yet. She crouched down. A few plants protruded from the ground near the edge of the studio, though they weren’t green. They were the same odd shade of yellow as the inside of the studio. In fact, the first 5 centimetres of ground from the studios walls were also the same colour as the inside. _Now I get what Joey said. It really is leaking outside._ She outstretched her hand so that it reached within the studio. It felt warmer. Yet just putting her hand through the door was enough to make her body freeze up with fear. The colours here were so bleak and dull, smiling faces looking at you from every angle. It would be enough to drive anyone mad. A nagging doubt gnawed at her mind. Your father has been trapped in the loop for 2 years. What if the man you meet isn’t your father anymore? What if it’s some strange madman who will try to kill you on sight? What if you do escape but he goes back inside because the colours hurt his eyes? What if he isn’t _human_ anymore? She shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind. She tried to focus on something else. Like the adults. They were producing a rather long rope, knotting together multiple ones. _How much rope did Beatrice bring?_ She thought back to what she said earlier, about Wally. Apparently she had met Wally, a long long time ago, when she was too young to remember. It was when she 1 years old. Wally had liked her. Before he vanished. One thing she did remember from when she was about 6. A newspaper clipping about a Connor couple going missing. Both worked for Joey Drew Studios as well. _Dad had all the warnings and yet he chose to ignore them. Why would he do that? Did he care about Joey more than his family? No, no he didn’t. He was just...hopeful. Hopeful that things were better._ Her mind went back to reality at the sound of wheels. She looked to her right. Creaking down the road slowly, was Joey Drew. He put on a wide smile for her. She looked away. 

“Ah, So you have decided to show up.”, Linda said, folding her arms.

”Of course I did.”, Joey answered, going through the doorway, “Wouldn't miss this for the world.”

It occoured to Minette that she was the only one standing outside. She looked at the outside world for what might be the last time. Taking deep breaths and gathering her courage, she stepped through the doorway. Joey got out of his wheelchair and leaned on a crutch of his. Minette frowned in confusion.

”What are you going to do with that?”, Minette questioned, “Leave it here?”

”Since going around in that thing would be inconvenient for everyone, I’m leaving it here so that if we get back, it will be right here for me.”

Minette was about to question him on the ‘if’ part of his sentence when there was a loud slam. Everyone looked at the door. It was closed. _Well. No going back now._ Linda called them over, clearly having not noticed the door. The group stood around the large hole. It was so deep. You couldn’t see the bottom. _If your father fell down there, he would be dead by now-SHUT UP._

”Alright, we have managed to secure the rope to a pipe. I will be going down first. If I don’t tug on the rope, don’t follow.”

She watched in quiet distress as her mother slid down to the rope. She started lowering herself down, focusing on the ground beneath her. Minutes passed as she went deeper and deeper, until you could barely see her beneath all the pipes. There was a moment of tense silence. The rope moved twice. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Barney began to climb down when Joey said.

”Wait, how am I supposed to get down with my crutch?”

”You hang it around your arm as you go down.”

Joey stared at Charlotte, “I have a crippled leg!”

Charlotte put on her ‘are you serious’ face. Joey responded with an ‘of course I’m serious face’. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“Look, if it weren’t for you, none of this would be here, so suck it up.”

Joey glared at her while Joan and Minette giggled. Charlotte went down after Barney, followed by Joan. Before she knew it, it was Minette’s turn. Cautiously, she lowered herself down. She sat on a pipe, leaning forward to look at the hole below. She slid forward a bit and shuffled backwards. Closing her eyes, she took a few breaths to calm herself. Once she opened them, she moved to grab the rope. Moving slowly yet swiftly, she scurried down the rope. Her hands started to hurt soon after, every moment filled with dread. Images of a broken bone filled corpse flashed through her mind, though she tried her best to ignore them. Her sweaty palms gripped it as tight as possible. After a few excruciating minutes, she felt her feet graced with solid ground. She took a deep breath and let go of her doubts. Joan was fiddling with a recorder nearby. She wandered over as she pressed play.

** VOICE OF THOMAS CONNOR **

_It’s dark and it’s cold and it’s stuck in behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this goddamn ink is clear up to my knees! Whoever thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I don’t, or he’s some kind of idiot._

_But the real worst part about all this...are all them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on it’s last legs. Make no mistake this...place...this...machine...heck this whole darn thing...it just isn’t natural._

_You can bet, I won’t be doing any more repair jobs for Mister Joey Drew._

Joan and Minnette looked at one another. Silently, they registered who was speaking in the recording. There was a groan as someone landed on the ground. Both looked over their shoulders to see Joey. A rope was tied around his waist (he was currently removing it). He tugged on it twice and looked at the people in the room, one of which was currently face palming. 

“Did you get Beatrice to _lower_ you down?”, Charlotte asked through her hands.

”Yes.”, Joey responded as if it was some kind of accomplishment, “She’s surprising strong.”

”She is.”, A scowling Beatrice descended from the hole in the ceiling, “And I’m never doing that for you again.”

Joey shrugged. For a second, Minette found it hard to believe that this man had killed someone. But then she remembered her missing father and the man before her vanished. They all turned to a nearby hall. The group trudged down a hall, Joey limping at a distance. Down a set of stairs, another inkstained hall and yet more stairs. They were only a minute in and Minette was already clutching Joan’s hand for dear life. The door swung open. A room was revealed, with a tiled floor. A table stood nearby, Old and dusty, except for a marking that indicated that something had once lay there. Scrawled on the wall nearby was an inky message. 

“ **The Creator Lied To Us.** ”, Barney read aloud, sending a dirty look Joey’s way.

He didn’t react. He must’ve been used to this sort of thing by now. All walking close to the wall opposite, they made their way through a doorway littered with broken wood. A dark hallway followed. More broken boards lay around them, the only light source in a room opposite. They turned a corner. Most gasped in shock and fear at the thing drawn on the ground. Everyone close to Drew stepped away. Even he seemed mildly surprised.

”Well. It looks like someone learned how to draw ritual circles. Interesting. I didn’t think anyone at this studio had the brains to comprehend the intricacy of the magic within-“

”What of Devil magic have you been playing with!!?”, Barney yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

”It’s not Devil magic, it’s Substance magic mixed with Transformation magic combined with Fictional magic. This is what I meant when I thought no one else could draw these....”

Careful to avoid the circle, they slowly made their way around the room. Minette stared at three nearby coffins. She wondered if that was where Joey stored the bodies. She shivered in disgust and fear and scurried forward, desperate to get away from him. Her eyes widened as her foot collided with something. The world rushed and became a blurred rush of yellow and black. She landed face down on the ground. Linda cried out in horror and yanked her upwards. Minette, still quite dazed, stumbled a bit in her grasp before regaining focus.

”I-It’s okay mum, I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.”

”You fell in that demonic circle!! What if something had happened to you too?”

She couldn’t hear the rest of what her mother was saying. She was too busy with staring at the circle. A single candle was out of place. It had rolled into the middle, the flame extinguished, a trail of melted wax behind it. She felt her mother examining her for any ink mark or demonic symbols or whatever the paranoia in her mind had convinced her she had. A door was opened. Linda finally stopped checking her. She progressed through the door. Joey was rambling something about ‘rituals’ and how a ‘ritual circle won’t work without a ritual’ and how ‘they were all completely fine’. Minette felt sorry for Joan. She had to be close to a murder and smart ass. Not a good combination. A sign above read **‘Utility Shaft 9’**. Yet another message awaited them at the bottom of the stairs. **He Will Set Us Free.** _Who will set us free?_ Her gaze landed on a recording, but she wasn’t tugged along by her mother. Two more coffins leaned against a wall. _Two more bodies._ A sinister cutout leaned against another circle. It’s pie cut eyes watched them pass like it was happy to see them. If it had a mind, it was probably plotting ways to kill them. An inky hallway lay before them. As they entered the ink, Minette realised that Joey was right behind her. Panic flared in Charlotte and Barney’s eyes. Joey rolled his and said.

”I didn’t kill your daughter, she’s listening to the recording back there.”

Sure enough, as they reached the end of the inky hall, loud splashes followed behind. Joan slid in front of Joey, looking rather disturbed. Barney and Charlotte exchanged looks of concern. One more cutout lay in front of a circle. Some bare looking shelves stood beside it. A fuse box was attached to the wall, the lever inside pulled down. As they went through another arch, Minette turned to Joan, letting go of her mothers hand. It tried to grab her again but she was already put of reach. 

”So, what was on the recording?”

”I-I don’t know. It was some weird dude named ‘Sammy Lawrence’ ranting on about some figure of ink that will set them free.”

Minette looked at the rather flamboyant sign before her.

”You mean that Sammy Lawrence?”, She pointed at a title, “Head of the music department?”

She scurried up to a recording and yanked it off it’s shelf. She pressed play. A rather annoyed voice crackled from it. Someone was complaining, yet again.

** VOICE OF SAMMY LAWRENCE **

_So first, Joey installs this Ink Machine over out heads. Then it begins to leak. Three times last month we couldn’t even leave out department because the ink had flooded the stairwell._

_Joey’s solution? An ink pump to drain it periodically. Now I have this ugly pump switch in my office. People in and out all day._

_Thanks Joey. Just what I needed. More distractions. These stupid cartoon songs don’t wrote themselves, you know._

_Can understand why people were so unhappy. 38 floors, Ink machines, evil boss, it feels like the list doesn’t end._ Minette watchedJoan as she considered his words.

”Yeah, it’s him alright. But he didn’t sound like that, he sounded more....creepy. And religious.”

”Hey kids.”, They looked over at Barney’s call, “There’s an infirmary here. We can get Minette something for her leg.”

Minette vanished from sight, Joan close behind. Beatrice, loitering nearby, decided to look about. _It’ll be helpful, I could find some food or something._ Beatrice really knew that it was just her curiosity though. She looked over the sign. Above them was a pipe, a gramophone nearby. The recording it had seemed to read ‘The Lighter Side Of Hell’. Or at least. That’s what she could gather apart from the inkstains. Making her way past the sign, her eyes landed on a poster. It was of a cartoon female wth horns and a halo. The title proudly announced her as **‘Alice Angel’**. _Don’t look like an Angel to me._ Climbing up some old creaking stairs, Beatrice found herself on a balcony of sorts. Down below, Charlotte wandered, looking for food or supplies. She read over a piece of sheet music before moving to a recording below. A sweet female voice echoed through the hall. Beatrice looked over at a nearby recording. It sat next to a projector. She pressed play.

  **VOICE OF NORMAN POLK**

_Everday the same strange thing happens. I’ll be up here in my booth, the band will be swinging, suddenly Sammy Lawrence comes marching in and shuts the whole thing down. Tells us all to wait in the hall._

_Then I hear him. He starts up my projector and he dashes from the projector booth to the recording booth like the little devil himself was chasing behind._

_Few seconds later, the projector turns off. But Sammy, he doesn’t come out for a long time. This man is weird. Crazy weird._

_I have half a mind to talk to Mr Drew about all of this. But then again, I have to admit. Mr Drew has his own peculiarities._

_Interesting. This Lawrence fella sounds like a madman._ She turned her attention to the projector. After fiddling about with it for a few minutes, light came from the lens. On the wall opposite, a cartoon was playing. Boris seemed to be stealing Bendy’s lunch. Beatrice smiled. _He’s just like my Wally. Always thinking about food before all else._ Footsteps sounded and Beatrice left the booth. Joan held an inkstained hat in her hand, smiling smugly at her father. He gave her a disapproving look. The group was joined by Charlotte. 

“There’s an open door right there.”, Charlotte said, gesturing to a basement like area. 

The gang nodded, going down one by one. The door swung open to reveal a rather large and menacing room. The room was filled with gears and ink. It dripped from the ceiling and some circles were drawn around the room. The ink here went up to people’s knees. Chains dangled from the ceiling. There was a table in the corner were someone had collected some stuff. Minette wandered over. A banjo lay on it. It was different from the others. More clean, less dusty. It shone like it had polished recently. A strange collection of items lay about near it. Various music sheets, a recipe for chocolate cake, an empty jar of mayonnaise. A broken cutout floated on the ink. A message was above it.

**You LIED to me.**

Once again, all eyes were on Joey. By now he was clearly just bored by it. They contiuned their journey. As she walked, Minette felt something brush against her leg. Looking down, she spotted some floating. Carefullly, she picked it up, wiping ink on her shirt. It was a picture of a very pretty lady. It was torn from a bigger picture, as she could see the top of another person’s head in it. She had a lovely smile and fiery ginger hair. Her blue eyes were like the sky, a nice reminder of the world outside. The frame it was contained in was in perfect condition, save a few ink marks that look vaguely like fingerprints. Minette look about before sliding it into her pocket and running after the others. They emerged through a door into more of the stuff. When they finally got out of it, their shoes were soaked through and trousers stained. Minette could feel her mothers groans as she thought about having to wash these. They turned another corner. Halls spread out like a web, trying to ensnare them. They went to dead end after dead end, growing more and more panicked and frustrated. At long last, a door came into view. They ran towards it. Linda turned the handle. It wouldn’t open. They tried again. Wouldn’t open. Yet again they grew more and more desperate before Linda finally slumped down in defeat. Joey examined it as everyone else grew weary.

”Must’ve used the barricade. No getting through that door.”

”Is there any other way through?”, Minette asked.

Joey thought for a moment. It was clear that even he had forgotten the layout of the studio after all these years.

“No. Henry must’ve come through here and if we intend to find him we have to go through that way.”

Linda slammed her fist onto the ground, “How then? How do we get through this door?!”

Joey leaned in closer. He knocked on it a few times, feeling about it. He looked at the hinges and doorknob before finally stopping and facing everyone else.

”We’re going to need some sort of battering ram, or something strong enough to break it.”

”Where are we supposed to get one of those?”, Charlotte asked, voice dry and suprisingly bored. 

”I don’t know, just look!”

The group reluctantly trod back to the music department and began their search. Joan found a piece of what looked like an axe at some point and had attempted to hack through the door. It broke into even smaller pieces though, so that dream went down the drain. Beatrice found a very large statue of Bendy. She assumed everyone could lift it together to bring down the door. But Joey had his mangled leg, preventing him from doing any heavy lifting. They wandered for what felt like hours, but was really just half of one. Minette eventually reached a rather curious room. It was large with a pair of speakers. Ink puddles lay scattered about the floor. There was a pole with some rope at the end, a ritual circle drawn beneath it. Minette felt a brief ounce of fear cut through her before shaking it off. Slowly, she made her way past the ink puddles. Reaching down, she picked up the rope. _This might come in handy later._ She slung it over her shoulder. A door was to her right. Turning the handle, listening to see if there was anyone inside, she stepped through. It was a small office, with a single desk in it. An ink puddle lay on the floor nearby. A mask floated on top of it. It was of Bendy, the smile carved out. It was old and chipped with age, the black flaking off. She shivered. Something about that mask was just....unsettling. There was a bit of the office she couldn’t see. She moved to look at it and jumped back in surprised. A very demented form of Bendy was standing in front of her. It’s maddened eyes stared at her as it gripped a sign in it’s hands. **Wandering is a terrible sin.** Minette swallowed. Her throat was dry. She moved a bit closer, curious but afraid at the same time. She stopped when she heard whispers in her ear.  _I think I should leave here._ She turned to go. The ink puddle lay before her. But the mask was gone. Minette ran out of the room and slammed the door. She was not spending another second in that godforsaken place. She looked back across the empty area. The puddles across from her had seemed to swell. Drops of ink came out of mass like some disgusting saliva. After a few minutes of consideration, Minette decided that she could just avoid them. Cautiously, Minette made her way towards the exit. The nearest puddle exploded outward, The Ink hitting her legs. A creature emerged from the black. It looked as if it was made out of ink, hollowed eyes in it’s head. It’s mouth was wide and gaping, caught in a constant scream. It crawled towards her in an animalistic manner, despite it’s human appearance. Minette searched for any kind of defence. But there was none. So she did the only thing she could.

She screamed. She screamed as loud as she could. Even when she had finished she could hear her voice echoing through the halls. More of the things began to emerge, moaning and groaning as they advanced towards her. She was backed up against the wall with no defense by now. Footsteps sounded and calls of her name too. The beast closest to her leaped up, it’s arched back stretching. She closed her eyes and kicked out with her leg. It collided with something cold. Something that sounded like a scream reached her ears and she opened her eyes. The thing was gone. The others were still coming however. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself through the swarm, stepping on their liquid figures at every opportunity, kicking them, stomping on them. Their cries echoed through the room. She didn’t stop. Tears poured from her face, fear gripping her as she kept kicking and struggling. The footsteps stopped nearby and she finally opened her eyes. The things were gone. Ink had sprayed across her trousers, some on her shirt and hands. Tears continued to drip from her face. She felt comforting arms wrap around her. She clutched on to her mothers shirt and wept into the fabric. Muffled shouts sounded as a hand gently stroked her hair. The fear eventually melted away. She wiped her face on her sleeves and joined the group. They reached the door once more. Using a bandage, they secured the head of the axe to a strong metal pole. Barney hacked at the door over and over and over again until there was a big enough hole to climb through. His face was completely red and sweat dripped from his forehead. The wood poked and prodded Minettes skin but she didn’t care. As long as she could get away from the place she found those things. A quiet room lay before her. Toys were scattered about, squeaking upon contact. A small door was titled lift. She looked at the others. There was no other way out. 

“Well,”, Charlotte said, “Guess we’re taking the lift.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest thing I have ever written. Hope you enjoyed it, I’ll probably post again in a week or two.


	4. Wander And Wonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything here is wrong.

The elevator stopped. It hadn’t taken long, but it was quite crowded when it was holding 7 people. Minette stepped out, relieved to be able to breathe away from the scent of her mothers alchohol polluted breath. They were in a small hallway. Looking down it, she saw a very strange door. It was made out of wires and had clothes hung up on it. Almost like a secret entrance. She looked at the others. All were examining the new place. It was darker down here. Further from the sun. Minette made her way to the wire and dragged it aside at the pace of a snail. Then Joan yanked it from her grasp and everyone emerged into the new place. Joey smiled.

”Oh now I recognise this place. It’s where the Mechanic’s were supposed to relax! I didn’t remember it at first, age does that.”

”Why did it have such a secretive entrance?”, Barney asked, sniffing a packet of biscuits before shoving it back into the cupboard. 

“Couldn’t let others see this sort of stuff, especially the musicians. God, they’d just gossip all day long. Then other employees demand similar treatment, then you waste money, then they feel entitled and it all goes down hill from there.”

”Because caring for your employees well being is such a waste.”

Joey sent a glare in Charlotte’s direction. She picked up an empty bowl and examined it. She walked over to the stove and felt the pot. She looked at the others.

”It’s warm”

Linda touched it as well, “Yeah, it is.”

Minette exchanged a glance with Joan. She turned away and went to look at a painting on the wall. Minette spotted a can of bacon soup and snatched it, only to find it was unfortunately empty.mShe looked to the wall near it. A disturbing collage was stuck on the wall. It looked like a terrified man with lines connecting pieces of Boris to him.  _Well, I guess you have to work with what you have to make any art down here._ She chucked the soul behind her as she walked away. She winced at the ridiculously loud sound it made as Beatrice made her way into the room.

”Don’t try to use the toilet’s, they’re revolting.”

”Since when were public toilets not?”, Joan muttered.

Barney pulled down on a lever and left the room. Beatrice also seemed quite eager to leave this place. One by one the others filtered out behind them. Minette spotted the picture Joan had been looking at. It was exactly the same as the one back home, albeit with a lack of colour. It hung above mum and dad’s bed. She looked away. _I don’t need to think about that right now._ A strange box was positioned at the end of the hall. It looked like it was a wooden crate that had attrcthed random pieces of scrap towards it. A halo was painted in the outside and it was entitled as a ‘ **Little Miracle Station** ’. Joan briefly hopped inside, peeking through a small rectangular hole carved in. She described it as ‘underwhelming’. A dark hallway, darker than anything else, Came into view. The sounds of machinery and the hisses of gas reached her ears. Reluctantly, Linda held out her bag. Each person grabbed a torch. Supposedly they ran out before Joey could have one. They shone their lights about in the dark. The walls seemed to pulse and move with all the gears and pistons. Cobwebs, yet no spiders, lay in elusive corners, abandoned a long time ago. Ink dripped from the ceiling like it always did. Minette grilled her mothers arm. She’d never liked dark places. _I wonder why there are no spiders here._ She though to herself as the light came into view. Maybe even they had enough sense to get out. The dark tunnel finally came to an end. The torches were placed back into the bag and they continued onward. A two way route lay before them. The group split up, Drew’s seemingly attracted to the right while the rest went the left. When they reunited, There were small gasps of awe as they took in the massive hall. Plushies littered it, some gigantic, some not. Planes made from wood hung from the ceiling and a great sign proudly announced the name ‘Heavenly Toy’s’. A theatrical waterfall of ink gathered in a pool that looked like it was made just for it. _I guess if you can’t get rid of it you can try to make it useful._ Oddly enough, there were a few broken cutouts littered around the area. They climbed up the stairs, entering a small room. A tape recording lay just out of reach behind some shelves, the gears and wheels of yet another machine turning. Joan yanked a switch sideways, causing the shelves to move. She moved them once more, exposing the recording. 

“Joan! You just blocked our exit!”, Barney scolded her.

”Relax dad, it’s a lever, I can switch it about any time I want.”

Minette reached out and pressed play.

** VOICE OF SHAWN FLYNN **

_I don’t be seein’ what the big deal is._

_So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile?_

_That’s sure no reason for Mr Drew to be flyin’ off the handle at me. And now if he really wants to be so helpful, he can be tellin’ me what I’m to be doin’ with that werehouse full of that angel whatchamacallit. Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin’!_

_Probably have to melt it all down to be rid of it all._

“Angel whatchamacallit, who’s that?”

”I think I heard about this.”, Charlotte answered, “I listened to a recording where a woman called ‘Susie Campbell’ had gotten to voice act her. She was really happy about that.”

”Ah Yes, Miss Campbell. Truly one of my more dedicated employees. Sad how she turned out really.”

”And how _did_ she turn out?”, Linda asked, eyes narrowing.

Joey raised an eyebrow, “You really want to know? *sigh* Fine. I gave the role to someone else who was much more talented, an ‘Allison Pendle’ who abandoned the studio a few months before it’s closing. Susie wasn’t very happy about losing the role and even though she continued voicing characters she wasn’t satisfied. I eventually approached her. We got close. I gave her an opportunity to get back her role...permanently. The process was in it’s early stages, it went wrong and she became a disgusting caricature of the angel she wanted to be. Everything went downhill from there...”

”So you murdered her?”

”She gave herself up. It was her choice, she was ready to accept the consequences. It was admirable, really, her dedication to Alice. Too bad it didn’t end well for her. But it didn’t really end well for any of us.”

There was a somber silence in the room. Minette stared at the ground. _How many people have died here?_ There was a startled noise and everyone turned to see Beatrice marvelling at small ink creature in a bowl. Everyone gathered around. It was currently in the shape of Alice, but changed into the ink machine. Beatrice smiled at it.

”What are you?”

She picked up the bowl and stared at the creature, which had morphed back into Bendy. Everyone exchanged looks. 

“I think she’s lost it.”, Joan whispered to Minette.

Beatrice tipped the bowl sideways. The inky mass went flat and stuck to it, not a single drop escaping. She gasped as it remoulded itself to look like her.

”Aren’t you clever?”, She looked at the others, who were staring in concern, “We’re keeping it.”

”No, no, we are not!”, Joey said, attempting to take the bowl from Beatrice, “It’s an ink monster, it’s dangerous.”

”Seriously? It’s about 2 inches tall Joey, I doubt it’s going to get able to hurt us.”

”She makes a fair point.”, Barney said, everyone else nodding in agreement.

”Fine.”, Joey growled, “We’ll keep it.”

The lever was pulled two more times to let out the group. They went through to a room completely covered in Alice posters. What looked like a stage lay before them, the glass covering it broken in the middle. Charlotte examined it.

”It looks like it was broken from the inside. Like whatever it was containing got out.”

Minette shivered, thinking back to the disgusting ink creatures that attacked her earlier. Down another corridor they went until they reach a hole that was broken in the wall, Minette feared by the creature. A crossroads lay before them. It stated it clear bold words that one was ‘The Demon’ and the other was ‘The Angel’. The demon room was filled to the brim with ink. The Angel’ wasn’t. It was clear which path they were going to choose. A sofa was positioned against the wall, **Dreams Come True**  painted on another. Bacon soup cans acted as warm candles and a recording lay near them. This time, it was Linda who pressed play, greeted with a sobbing and broken voice.

** VOICE OF SUSIE CAMPBELL **

_Everything feels like it’s coming apart._

_When I walked into the recording booth earlier today, Sammy was there’s with that...Allison._

_Apparently I didn’t get the memo. Alice Angel will now be voiced by Miss Allison Pendle._

_A part of me died when he said that._

_There’s gotta be a way to fix this!_

Charlotte shook her head and turned away. The rest followed her to the door. Minette looked at the recording. _I’m so sorry Miss Campbell._ She followed the others. They made their way down a misty corridor, thick with steam. Another one of those peculiar boxes lay nearby. Nobody spoke to one another, not even Joey. Apart from their footsteps, there was silence. It allowed you to take in every crack of the floor, every drip of ink. It made you aware of the dangers that could lurk around any corner. The silence was a haunting reminder of the tragedies that occurred here, for the whole studio was practically a grave. An inkstained mess of toys came before them. The smiles were everywhere. It was almost as if they were mocking them, like a cruel inside joke. _What is the joke?_ A split opened before them, but they didn’t take the time to explore. They just went straight through the doorway, the desperation to leave overcoming them. Another large tunnel had been formed in a once stable wall, machinery writhing on all sides. Climbing down the staircase they reached an interesting scene. A large hole lay in the ground, perfectly shaped and deliberate. A ‘Call’ button was positioned nearby. Wires dangled helplessly from the ceiling. Linda leaned in to examine it before looking back at the others.

”The wires appear to snap much farther down.”

”So it’s an elevator crash.”, Beatrice said.

”But who was inside it?”, Minette asked, getting as close to it as possible without her mother stopping her.

”I think we all know the answer to that question.”, Joey said, looking like he was interested for once, “Thomas always thought that this would happen, but this is the only time. Paranoid man.”

“Rope?”, Joan asked, holding it up.

”It won’t be long enough by itself.”, Linda said, “But, if we were to attach it to the wire, it would reach the bottom.”

”The bottom probably has a broken mess of an elevator and the bottom of the wire may electrocute you.”, Joey’s interest had clearly gone back to boredom, “If you ask me we should just turn back now.”

”If my husband is anywhere, he’s down there. And I’m not about to lose him to some cartoon hell!”

She snatched the rope from Joan and grabbed the wires. Before anyone could retaliate, she had dissapeared from view. Minette ran over to the edge, grabbing one of the structures sticking out from the ground for support. She watched as her mother went down the wire. There were no electric sparks at the bottom. Minette breathed a sigh of relief. She tied the rope to the cords, looking up. She smiled at her daughter.

”It’s okay, she’s secured the rope.”, She told the others, looking back to see her mother going down it, “And now she’s climbing down.”

”Seriously?”, Charlotte asked, peering over the edge, “Could’ve asked first.”

* * *

 

After what was probably an hour, Beatrice’s feet finally touched the ground. A very broken elevator lay beside them. The bits and pieces were nothing but a smouldering mess, broken remains like a machine could decompose. Minette wanted to believe that the elevator had broken from atrophy but something deep inside her told her otherwise. A patch of fully exposed dirt was nearby. Considering his deep they were it was understandable. Gears spun in a nearby wall and a sign adressed this location as ‘Level S’. After everyone had brushed themselves off, they made their way deeper into this hell. Glancing around you could see various bits and pieces of scrap metal. The door at one end of the hall was open. The sign pointed elsewhere in bold letters. **‘Grant Cohen’.**

“Who’s he?”

”Accountant.”, Joey blurted out a little too quickly, “He’s not important.”

”Anyone who didn’t get out before the studio’s closure apparently wasn’t important to you.”, Linda growled.

”Okay people, now’s not the time for arguing.”, Barney told both, pushing them apart like an adult breaking up a child’s squabble.

Down the hall and through a metal door that seemed like it was guarding something, was a large room filled with books. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and another recording lay on a small round table in the middle of the room. A very big metal door blocked their path. 

“Let’s look for a way through.”, Charlotte told the others, “Any idea how to get through Joey?”

”Not the slightest clue.”

And if he did, the tone suggested that they weren’t getting that information anytime soon. Charlotte rolled her eyes at him and went to search for a way through. Linda had vanished. Minette took this as an opportunity to listen to the recording.

 **VOICE OF SUSIE CAMPBELL ** _(Her again)_

_They told me I was perfect for the role. Absolutely perfect. Now Joey’s going around, saying things behind closed doors. I can always tell._

_Now he wants to meet again tomorrow, says he has an “opportunity” for me. I’ll hear him out. But if that smooth talker thinks he can double cross an Angel and get away with it, oh he’s got another thing coming._

_Alice, ooh she doesn’t like liars._

And before she could process what she had heard, a loud scream rang in her ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, something’s actually happening now.


	5. Time Wounds All Heals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The horror truly starts to unfold.

Everyone rushed down the hall upon hearing Linda’s scream. Frantic footsteps echoed through the empty hallways, disturbing cobwebs as they passed. Barney threw open the door to find Linda standing next to a desecrated wall, hands covering her mouth. They looked around. The walls were covered in words that spoke of madness, filling every corner, wall and floor. Rocks jutted out of the ground near a crooked chest of draws, a pair of mocking posters on the floor. There was a puddle of ink on the floor beneath an ink splattered chair. The desk had a recording placed in the corner, a clump of bubbling boiling ink next to it. Despite the horror of this room, there was no sign of any threat.

“What is it?”, Charlotte asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She wordlessly pointed to the recording, fear in her eyes. Minette cautiously walked over to it. She extended a hand, debating wether or not to press play. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Joey. He was relatively hidden behind the others but she could his deathly pale face. It was a face of regret. She made up her mind and decisively pressed play. The group was greeted by an overlapping cacophony of screams and shrieks of pain. Linda squeezed her eyes shut and clutched Charlotte close as the sound of shattered glass sounded. A very familiar voice yelled ‘Back off!’ as awful gurgles came into the mix. There was a sound like ink being hit and silence. A pitiful groan came from the recording before disappearing. There were faint weeping sounds and it was only now that Minette realised her mother had been crying. She looked at Joey. He was staring at the corner, completely fixated, like something awful lay there. Minette felt like something long dead had. 

“I think it would be best...”, Joan quietly said, “If we moved on.”

Retracing there steps and making sure to shut the door, they went back to the archives were everyone worked slowly yet with some desperation to get away as far as possible. As much as she wanted to forget that room, Minette felt her mind drift back to it. Like an awful stench that clung to her, polluting her lungs until it was difficult to breath. Eventually Minette simply sat down in a chair. Her mother sat opposite, eyes distant. Minette reach out and placed her hand on her mothers. She squeezed it and gave her a reassuring smile.

”It’ll be ok mum.”, Minette said, “No one else will get hurt.”

Linda smiled in return, but it wasn’t out of belief in her statement.

”I’m not worried about getting hurt. After all, we’ll just die instead of being trapped in nightmarish bodies. I’m just worried about your father. I’ve seen what this place has done to people and after being trapped here for so long....what if he’s stopped being the man I knew?”

Minette felt the same nagging sadness as earlier. _It seems like I’m not the only one who considered it._ There was a heavy metallic creak. The door had opened. A large cavern lay before them, cages hanging from the ceiling. Minette thought it was impossible for Joey’s face to get any paler but he somehow had. He was as cold and white as a sheet of paper. A tram dangled precariously from a wire. But it was the only way across the gaping abyss below. 3 people at a time crossed the large gaping gap between platforms. Minette found she was unlucky enough to be stuck with Joey as the last two people. That time around the whole thing jolted, like something wanted to hurl him into the black at the cost of her. She could understand that sentiment. Going down one more empty hall, that was filled with an odd sense of dread, they came across a staircase. 

“That is a lot of doors.”, Joan remarked on the way up, “Shame there’s no way to reach them.”

”Considering this places track record I’d much rather not.”, Barney muttered just loud enough for Joey to pick up.

For once he didn’t retaliate. The room before them was playing a calming tune. Another one of those boxes lay in the corner, two sofa’s either side. A balcony was above. Sitting down, food was handed out between everyone. Minette opened a can of baked beans and looked around.

”Do we anything to reheat them with?”

”Unfortunately no.”, Beatrice replied, “But it’s actually edible food.”

Minette put a mouthful in her mouth and grimaced. _Barely._ The once peaceful tune had become underwhelming and annoying with it’s constant loop. Minette reached out and lifted up the sharp piece (she never learned the name). The music stopped. Satisfied, she leaned back and closed her eyes. The pillows were rather soft. She had only just realised how tiring all this walking was. How long had they been in this studio? _Nevermind. We’ll get out eventually. It’s not as cold as I remember....This sofa is really comfy..._

* * *

The room was large. And fuzzy. Everything seemed to echo in her ear, distant, not exactly there. She couldn’t tell if she was standing or floating. Some glowing yellow text was printed on the wall. _Time Wounds All Heels._ There was a loud crash nearby. She turned her head to see the blurred figures of what looked like a man and a carousel. Bits and pieces lay on the ground. The things body turned. She was almost completely unaware that she had moved, but found herself peering around the corner of a door. She caught the briefest glimpse and what looked a humongous head and-

* * *

 She awoke to her body being violently shaken.

”Joan JOAN!!”, She pushed a rather startled Joan away from her, “I’m awake ok! I’m not dead! The food didn’t kill me!”

“I didn’t think you were dead. You’re just a heavy sleeper.”

Minette scowled at her. She responded with a large grin. She hopped off the sofa, rather annoyed that the music was playing once more and followed the others. She avoided the puddles of ink on the floor that were scattered across the room. The only way out was a small vent. Minette peered into the darkness. A ball of fear grew inside her. She hated the dark. She gave herself a mental slap. _Now is not the time for being scared._ Despite her self scolding, she still felt fear peering into the small cramped vent. The torches were handed out once more. One behind the other, they climbed in, her mother first. She stood second to last, Joey right behind her. It was difficult to grin her torch in her sweaty palms. She only became aware of her rapid breathing when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Joey. He gave her a smile. It would’ve been comforting coming from everyone else, or a different Joey from a different time. Before demons and rituals, murders and lies. Back when he made sausages on the weekend. Back before she was climbing through a vent in the dark.

Wait.

_I’m climbing through the vent._

She looked about, confused as to how she got here. She heard something behind her and restarted her crawl. Light peeked through a vent cover ahead, the room past it with a single desk and a Bendy Cutout. Turning the corner, she began her journey through another dark cold unforgiving part of this metal labyrinth. The tunnel seemed to get longer and longer, something moving in the shadows in front of her. Her breaths echoed down the cage. If she screamed it would be loud. But there would be no way out. It was too small and cramped and she couldn’t run, she could only crawl. If she dropped the torch she woulda be submerged in suffocating darkness, the walls closing in around her as she helplessly moved throughout the darkness, unable to see where she was going. There was light at the end, it was so far away. Her sweaty palms gripped the torch for dear life. Crawling faster at the final stretch she emerged into the light. It hurt her eyes at first, but she soon adjusted. Everyone else was loitering about, waiting for the thing behind her to come out. She stepped back as Joey emerged, not some horrifying monster. She let out a deep breath. _It’s fine, you’re being stupid, no one else is scared, you didn’t die, there’s nothing to fear._ Yet as they walked away she still double checked if it was empty. She stood in a large room, a staircase nearby, a closed metal door as well. Upon approaching the stairs, she read the sign nearby. **COME UP AND SEE ME - >. **She glanced upward. There was another ink message scrawled on the wall. **ALMOST THERE!** _Almost where?_ Adjusting her glasses, she followed the others up the stairwell. A Bendy head held a cluttered room within it. Papers depicting some sort of attractions lay everywhere. A map was layed out on the table of a massive park, filled to the brim with things of all shapes and sizes. Joey kicked up the tower in the middle and sighed. For once, Minette was suprised to find it was her mother who pressed play on the recorder.

VOICE OF BERTRUM PIEDMONT _(Fancy name)_

_For forty years, I’ve built attractions that stagger the imagination! Colossal wonders such as the world has never seen! I have earned my legacy with sweat._

_But right in front of everyone...high level investors, Wall Street tycoons, the ever tactless Joey Drew introduces me, the great Bertrum Piedmont, as Bertie! Like I was his child._

_You may be paying me, Mr Drew! But you don’t own me! I’ll build a park bigger than anything YOU could possibly conceive! But before you start taking any bows, Mister Drew, know that this grand attraction will belong to me...and to me alone!_

“Looks like someone needs to get an ego check.”, Joan muttered.

”Yeah”, Joey said, face darkening, “He did.”

They yanked the lever down and heard the creaking of a door. Climbing back down the stairs, ignoring the direction the arrow pointed, they reacheded a door. A gigantic metal sign with light’s illuminating it hung in front of them, a few flickering, vandalised to say **‘Bendy HELL”,** which was a rather accurate description of this place. Bits and bobs of all shapes and sizes littered the room, dirty and unused, paint peeling off of them. Soil crunched beneath their feet with every step. Wires stretched across the floor like snakes, leading to a power station. The levers were all switched off, the doors of the haunted house closed. Barney let out a heavy sigh.

”Well, this seems like it’s going to take while.”

* * *

 After listening to tape by Wally Franks, they played a few games to get through. Joan was suprisingly good at the gun one, Charlotte nailing the ball game after a few tries and Beatrice destroying the strength test in one go, though it wasn’t exactly necessary. The first room was a small one with creepy puppets with manic smiles watching them from a wall. _Disturbing. Who in their right mind would put that in an amusement park._ They went through Research & Design, finding a creepy broken animatronic and a tape from a woman named ‘Lacie Benton’. Minette liked her. _It’s a shame that she probably died here._ They pulled another lever and came one step closer to turning on the power. Linda walked over to the new door and read the sign.

”Attraction Storage.”

”Great. There’ll probably be more creepy puppets or something.”, Joan mumbled.

A long winding corridor lead to a small room with shelves against the wall. Minette almost felt like hurling at the thing laying near it. Gripping an motionless inky heart in one hand was a creature so mangled it was hard to tell what it was. It had 4 arms, 2 fused to together into a mechanical one. It had a cartoon eye and the other looked like it was strapped into it’s skull. It’s mouth was stitched up, another on it’s head. Minette recalled a poster she had seen earlier. It was titled **‘The Butcher Gang’** And had 3 characters on it. A pirate, a monkey of some kind and a spider. _This must be the spider._ She shuffled past it, hairs raising as she looked into it’s human like eye. The way the light reflected off it almost made it seem like glass. Looking away from it, she spotted the centrepiece of the new room. A large pipe pointed down from the ceiling at the carousel below. It’s carriages lay in a detatched mess on the floor around it. The doors were closed on the inside. The two halves of a broken axe were discarded nearby. Minette felt a sudden wave of déjà vu and her eyes drifted to a corner. There was no writing there. Why would she think there was writing there?

“What happened here?”, Minette asked the air.

”Unimportant.”, Joey answered, catching Minette’s words, “We should just pull the lever and leave. After all, that’s what we came for.”

”Look.”, Beatrice pointed at a recording on the ground. It appeared to have a wire attaching it to the carousel, “There’s a recording. Maybe it could give us an idea of what happened here.”

Pushing away a few pieces of wood, she picked it up from the ground. It was a bit beaten, scratches and dents on the surface,  but no major damage done. Blowing off some splinters of wood, Beatrice pressed play. There was a static crackling. They waited a bit longer before Charlotte sighed.

“Looks like it doesn’t work. We should probably find that lever and go.”

Round the back, Linda pulled down the lever before climbing back over the wreckage. She took Minette’s hand and began to leave the room with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Joey breath a sigh of relief. He limped towards the rest of them with a smile on his face.

**“Help.....me.”**

Everyone stopped. They looked at one another in confusion. Joey kept on going though, face pale.

”What was that?”, Minette asked him.

”It was nothing-“

**“Help......me.....”**

The Voice was covered ina crackling static. Escaping her mothers grasp, Minette walked over to the recording. Picking it up, she stared at it, almost expecting answers.

”Hello? Is there someone on the other side of this thing?”

**“Help.....”**

Minette found that she recognised the voice. She had heard it only a few minutes ago. She followed the black wire from it and confirmed that it lead it the carousel. She looked at the others, hand shaking.

”Oh my god...”, Charlotte whispered, covering her mouth in shock, “There’s somone _in there._ ”

”I know that voice.”, Linda said, “That’s the Piedmont man”, She looked over at Joey, “The one you hired.”

”Look. You don’t know what happened here. We pulled the lever, let’s move on to the next room-

”You murdered him, didn’t you?”, Charlotte murmured, face darkening, “You murdered him like you murdered everyone else.”

”It was a difficult situation.”

”Shut up. Just shut up. I don’t want to hear anymore from you.”, She walked up to him, a scowl on her face. Minette couldn't recall any time she had seen her so angry, “You will help him. You will save him.”

”What does it matter to you, you don’t know him-“

”But I can hear him. I can hear that he’s _dying_ while we stand here arguing.”

”He died a long time ago, the thing in there isn’t him.”

”It’s still in pain, it can feel! I’m done with sitting around with all this suffering and letting these innocent people die-“

”He tried to kill me!”, Joey yelled, “He attempted to strangle me so I stabbed him in the back!”

”It would’ve been a lot better for a lot of people IF YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!”

There was silence apart from the soft cries for help nearby. Joey let out a reluctant sigh.

”Fine. I can think of a way to save him, but it requires some sort of body and we won’t be finding one around here.”

Joan snapped her fingers, “The Bendy Animatronic! There are plenty of spare parts around here to fix him up with!”

Joey cursed under his breath, “Alright, repair the stupid thing. I’ll need an inkwell or something to make this work.”

Minette left to hunt for an inkwell, eventually finding one in a corner. Upon returning, the others had managed to attach the robots legs and were trying to put on the faceplate. They eventually gave up, leaving the empty eye to stare at them. Minette handed Joey the inkwell and left him to paint whatever it was he would. He scrawled symbols all over the surrounding floor, around the Animatronic and on the carousel before placing the empty inkwell on the ground. 

“All right, that should be good enough. Now, this spell is a bit rusty so if I don’t get it 100% right, don’t pin the blame on me.”

Closing his eyes, Joey started to whisper some sort of incantation. Everyone slowly shuffled out of the room, not wanting to get caught up in whatever madness what unfolding. There was a creak of metal and wind seemed to come from nowhere, whipping across Minette’s face. There was suddenly a blinding flash of light and all went still. Peering around the corner, she spotted a rather stunned looking Joey. He burst into a coughing fit, what looked like a bit of ink coming out.

”Oh god, I hate it when that happens.”

There was a sound of rust and metal moving and Minette looked down to see the Animatronic moving it’s fingers. Slowly, it began to sit up, coming to halt with a heavy metal thud. It titled it’s head and looked at Joey before looking at her.

”Well,”, It said in a British accent, “This is quite....unexpected.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY IT’S DONE. And just in time for Christmas! The next chapter will probably be released in the new year. So see you all in 2019 and merry Christmas!
> 
> Ethay olfway andway ethay ollensway.


	6. Buddies Old And New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group encounter new friends and a new foe.

The Animatronic examined the various faces surrounding it. It clearly hadn’t seen another human in a long time, as it seemed to take a bit to fully process what was happening. Shakily standing up, age making the body creak and groan he stumbled and dragged with earsplitting sounds towards Joey. He took a few steps back in an effort to avoid this thing but his face remained stone cold.

”Hello Bertie”, Joey monotonously said.

”Hello.”, He responded, “I see age has worn you down.”

Joey glanced at his crutch and back at Bertrum, “It looks like it hasn’t been kind to you either.”

”Ha ha very funny. So what have you been up to? Any other people you cast to the wayside for credit?”

”Even after all this time you’re still an egotistical idiot.”, Joey spat.

”Takes one to know one.”, Bertrum replied in a mocking tone.

”I don’t get why you’re being so rude to me. After all, you would be dead without me.”

“You’ve killed me once and I would hardly call this body some sort of freedom from death.”, He attempted to crack his steel knuckles, only to realise he was missing an arm, “And now I lack a limb necessary to my craft. Oh well, I only need one hand to beat the sh** out of you.”

”Wait Wait Wait!”, Barney said, waving his arms, making both of the men’s heads turn, “As much as I understand your absolute loathing of Joey”, Joey let out an offended sound, “We unfortunately need him alive if you want any chance of being human again.”

”Oh yes, because a soul trapped in a steel body with his actual physical body a deformed mess in a carousel is definitely going to turn back into a human any time soon.”

Barney raised his eyebrows and gave him a disbelieving look. Bertrum let out a long distorted sigh.

”Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.”, The group collectively breathed relief and left the room, “But I demand to walk at a distance of at least 10 cm from Joey!”

* * *

After pulling another lever they journeyed into the next room. One of the strange boxes was present, as well as rather out of place projector that had ink spurting from the bottom. The thing in the bowl that Beatrice had been carrying finally did something, pushing it’s way out of her bag and making frantic gestures at the projector. All the gestures made they couldn’t understand and had to put it away when it got aggressive upon Joan poking one of the hearts. She received a very stern scolding from her mother about touching things she didn’t know anything about. Joan then proceeded to lecture her mother on everything she knew about hearts until the doors of the haunted house opened. The power wasn’t working, so they were forced to follow the rails, shoving open a few doors along the way. Fortunately, Bertrum and Joey didn’t bicker that much, only giving each other glares (well more like uncomfortable stares into your soul in Bertrum’s case). A very decorated and very large room had tracks snaking through it as well. Four portraits lined the walls. One was of an overweight man with a tommy gun sticking out of him, a skeletal one, one with it’s eye on a plate, and a once pretty lady with an octopus type thing eating away at her face. This was a haunted house but these were a bit too creepy for Minette’s liking. Through a large pair of open doors lay more tracks. It was quite dark and Minette didn’t realise she was about to walk off of an edge before Bertrum grabbed the neck of her shirt. 

“Careful.”, He told her, leaning over the fall, “Wouldn’t want to tumble down there.”

It was a very steep downhill track, plummeting into darkness. Minette didn’t even want to think about going down there at high speeds. Charlotte lit up a torch and shone it about. 

“Doesn’t seem to be any other way around. We’ll have to be very careful climbing down here.”

”We could use the tracks as a ladder.”, Joan offered as a solution.

”The tracks aren’t very grippable.”, Charlotte glanced at it again, “But I guess it’s our best option.”

The descent down wasn’t helped by the inky black darkness. Minette felt her grip slip a few times thanks to her sweaty palms. She couldn’t imagine going down here without any light. Reaching a steady surface was an absolute relief especially with the end of the tracks coming into view. Bertrum’s curses at his rusty body and Joey’s brief cries of distress as he tried not to drop his crutch were quite amusing to listen to as the first people down started to continue forward. Going down a long twisting flight of stairs lead them even deeper into the studio. _How far underground are we by now? No wonder this place went bankrupt with a place as big as this._ There was a loud exclamation from Linda who was lifting up her foot. Long oozing strands of some glowing yellow substance were attached to a puddle beneath her. Minette went over to look at it. Small bubbles of the stuff seemed to reach up to ceiling, vanishing. She stared at it in confusion. _What was this stuff?_ At the sound of limping she knew to ask. She went to the back of the line as the march into hell contiuned. Joey’s face was tired, his age coming through much worse than before. This experience was draining him.

“So, do you know anything about that glowling yellow substance my mother stepped in?”

Joey gave her a blank look before reluctantly answering, “The current Ink Machine is the second version. The first one produced some sort of ‘Invisible Ink’. It should only be visible through using special equipment, I don’t understand why that puddle is visible. Then again, even though I made this nightmare, it never ceases to shock and confuse me.”

He looked away, focusing on the empty space in front of him. Minette decided that it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to bother him, unless she wanted to end up like the contents of this studio. But looking over her shoulder at him, she found it hard to believe he was even capable of killing by this point. She met her mother as she opened another door. The room it contained was dark and morbid. There were two draws, an axe embedded into one. A heart lay on the same draws, a syringe on the other. There was a large hole filled with ink in the middle a surgery table in the middle. Strapped onto it was the thing of nightmares. Those ink creatures had been bad but this was far worse. It looked human, but that couldn’t be true. It was the same colours as the world around it. Ink dripped from every inch of it’s fragile body. It didn’t even have feet, just melted stumps. It began to solidify as you went up the body. It’s eyes were Xs and tentacles poured out of it’s mouth. In fact, looking closer at it’s decrepit body you could see mangled tentacles on it’s back as well. Joey moved closer cautiously and slowly. He poked it’s inky arm, making the whole thing quiver. He examined it.

”It doesn’t have ears, no hair either, must’ve had cartoon eyes when it was alive.”, He looked back at the others, “I never made anything like this. It’s entirely new.”, He looked back at it, “Then again, that Angel did see me doing some of my operations, she could’ve learnt a lot...”

”Well, what the hell is it?”, Barney asked from as far away as he could get from the thing.

”A very poor imitation of a character known as Chester The Chest. He was a one time character that showed up in an episode titled ‘Bendy Walks The Plank’. In it Bendy steals some of his treasure and Chester responds by chasing him. I do believe that I made a template for him one time but never anything like this beast!”

”So you didn’t make it, yeah yeah, can we hurry up with getting out of here?”, Linda grumbled, shoving her way to the door.

”Moody.”, Joey huffed.

As Minette walked past the creature, she was hit with an overwhelming smell. It made her feel sick, the smell of ink like decay. She hurried away, hand covering her nose and mouth as her eyes watered from the rot. _How did Joey get that close to that thing?_ She felt her foot collide with something, stumbling forward but managing to maintain balance. Wires cross crossed the floor like a spiders web. Looking around, Minette spotted tons of seethrough pipes, ink filling up the bases. There were little control panels near each one. She didn’t know the purpose and felt the urge to press one of the buttons. But the room was gone as quickly as it came, the seemingly endless journey continuing.

* * *

 

”How long have we been walking for?”, Joan moaned.

”Ages.”, Barney said in an out of breath voice, “Ages and ages and ages...”

”My feet are starting to hurt.”, Charlotte remarked.

”Linda, I really think we should rest.”, Beatrice said in a faint voice.

Linda shot them all a glare before rolling her eyes and sitting down with her arms crossed, “Fine. We’ll rest.”

Sitting down on the floor, placing her bag nearby, Minette glanced at the rusty metal figure beside her. He had his arms crossed as well but his face was blank on account of it being an animatronic body. Minette didn’t even know how he was talking but decided to ignore that fact.

”So, I take it you’re in a bad mood.”

Bertrum looked at her, “Oh really?”

”Hey, look, I know your body isn’t exactly ideal but try to look on the bright side. You could totally punch through wood.”

”I guess I could.”, He murmured, “Anyway, what brings you down here child?”

Minette let out a long heavy sigh, “Well, my father, Henry Stein, used to work with Joey at the very beginning of the studio. He left and that’s what started this places downfall. About two years ago he got a letter from Joey, went back to this studio and never came out. My mother, Linda, was completely destroyed by this. The other people here are Barney, Joey’s brother, Joan, him and Charlotte’s child, Charlotte, the sister of a person who worked here called Wally Franks, And Beatrice, Who was his wife. I recently found out what happened to him and we forced Joey to come with us to the studio to rescue him. We know he’s been here just before us but we’ve yet to catch up with him.”

”Is he a man with a jacket?”

Minette was suprised by the question and hesitantly answered, “Yes...He had a favourite brown jacket...”

”Well, the jacket wasn’t brown but he certainly had one.”

”So you’ve seen him!!”, Minette cried out in joy.

Bertrum’s mechanical fingers fiddled with one another, “Yes, but-“

He was cut short by a slow sustained clatter. Turning their heads, they saw a metal bowl rolling across the floor towards them. It began to spin on the spot, before drumming a frantic beat and stopping. Standing up, a quiet sound like metal softly colliding, Bertrum stared at the corner it had come from.

”Hello?”, He asked in a less than welcoming tone, “Is someone there?”

The only response was a low gurgling drone of sorts. Bertrum took a step back, everyone getting to their feet. The deep rumble got louder, like an engine, as a figure came into sight. It’s arms were tied to it’s torso, like a straight jacket, chains attached to it’s legs and feet, jangling with every heavy step. Light came from it’s small shrunken eyes, that looked like empty black voids. It’s entire face was consumed by a monstrous mouth, strings of inky saliva strung between it’s jagged teeth. It turned its glowing gaze across the group, staring at each one individually. The low growl grew into a loud roar as Linda screamed ‘RUN’ at the top of her lungs. The whole group turned and bolted towards the nearest exit, not bothering to grab their bags, Linda yanking down on the lever. The heavy thuds of the beast behind them and it’s agrivated roars stung Minette’s ears, making her heart beat faster. They ran down a hall, All shoving one another to try to and get ahead. They ran and ran, the monsters roars never ceasing. They passed a torn poster for some episode called ‘Siren Serenade’, claw marks scratching across it. She heard Joey let out a rather loud scream and turned to see that the monster was just behind him as he limped desperately behind the others. Minette felt a little ball tighten in her chest. There was a heavy pipe laying on the floor nearby, and in a split second of desperation she grabbed it and ran towards them. The monster had it’s mouth open wide, ready to swallow Joey whole. The pipe crashed against it’s head, making it screech as one of it’s eyes was crushed. Minette took Joey’s hand and dragged him to his feet, pulling him along while the monster was stunned. She turned another corner, spotting the ‘Siren Serenade’ poster once more. The sinking realisation that they were going in a circle hit and she stopped to look around for the others. She couldn’t see or hear them and the monster sounded like it was getting ready to run again. She couldn’t see a door either. _Oh god_ , Minette thought, tears welling in her eyes, _this is where we die._ Minette jumped in surprise as the wall nearby slid open and a gloved hand yanked her inside, Joey rushing behind and slamming the door shut. They both stayed completely still as a low rumble passed the door, metal clinking. Finally, after holding their breath for almost a minute, the thing moved away from them. She gasped for air, looking up at her saviour. It had it’s head tilted, long snout bouncing as it moved. It had two long ears on it’s head and wore some dungarees and white gloves. It’s pie-cut eyes looked at her with curiosity, not hostility. Minette let go of it’s hand and stared at it for a bit.

”Um...hello?”, Minette hesitantly asked with an awkward wave.

And Boris the wolf gave a friendly wave back. Minette breathed a sigh of relief and looked over to see the others were safe. Someone ruffled her hair and she looked up to meet Joan’s smile.

”You scared us there. Thought you were gonna die!”, She leaned in close and whisper, “Though honestly I wouldn’t mind if Joey did.”

Minette raised an eyebrow at her. She heard a noise like that of an excited child and saw Joey with a very out of place smile. He very slowly approached Boris and tapped him on the nose. 

“YES!!!”, Joey screamed loudly, “YES HE’S REAL!!! HE’S REAL AND PERFECT, YES!!!”

”Keep your voice down or you’ll bring that thing back again!”, Linda snapped.

”Yes, Sorry.”, Joey said, regaining his composure, “It’s just he’s the first perfect one. I mean, did you see that pitiful attempt at a Gaskette outside? How did it’s mouth even get that big!?”

”This ‘perfect’ Boris was once a human you know.”, Beatrice, still with her bag, said with a dark expression, “A human _you_ proabably killed.”

There was a dark silence.

”Wow Triss, Just had to dampen the mood.”, Joan grumbled, also still with her bag, “Anyway, how are we supposed to get out of here?”

Boris perked up at that. He grabbed Beatrice’s hand and began to drag her down the hall. The others felt they had no choice but to follow. It was damp and dark, ink dripping and surprisingly water too. There were plenty of other miscellaneous substances, one Minette was sure was blood, covering the cold walls. 

“Why did you have these secret passages exactly?”, Minette asked Joey.

He shrugged, “Who doesn’t want a secret passage.”

Hopping over pipes and ducking under boards they began to see the studio’s artificial light peeping through cracks. Finally, they stopped at the beginning of a new hall. 

“Oh god.”, Beatrice muttered, Boris starting to hide behind her, “What is that thing?”

Something a lot like the ink creatures that had attacked Minette earlier was moaning at the end of the hall. It’s body was more mishappen, more swollen, a strange lump on it’s back. Minette grabbed the nearest persons’s hand, realised it was Joey’s, and then clenched it into a fist instead. She looked for any sort of weapon but to no avail. They just stood there, watching the pitiful thing writhe. Joan pushed the others aside and began to walk towards it, briefly stopped by her father.

”Joan, don’t go, what if it’s dangerous?”

She shrugged him off, “This entire place is dangerous, what’s your point?”

Slolwy and quietly approaching it, Joan looked about for some way out. There was a heavy steel door, like a garage door without any levers or button’s to open it. There were no grips to lift it up either. The thing let out a moan on her approach and looked over at her.

”Hi there.”, She said, “You know any way out of this place?”

Another moan was the response, “See you’re not one for conversation huh?”

The creature looked at her bag and stared intently. Joan looked down and saw the thing that was poking out. She pulled out the sewer hat and held it out to the inky creature. 

“Is this yours?”

It let out an almost cheerful moan and pointed to it’s head. Joan placed it on with a squelch and the creature disappeared into the puddle below. Joan let out a defeated sigh and turned to the others. 

“Welp, that was a waste of time.”

A light suddenly switched on and the door began to slowly ascend to reveal a dark hallway. Holding the lever at the other end was the same Searcher which let out another happy moan and disappeared once more. Joan nodded and looked at the group once more.

”Well. It wasn’t a waste of time then.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to go back to school. Yaaaaaayyyy (Kill me now.)
> 
> This means that Chapters will proabably be even slower to release because of all the homework I’m going to get. Anyway, until the next thing I post!


	7. Fate Avoided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is separated and one half confronts a new beast.

“Well isn’t this convenient?”

Bertrum had crossed his robotic arms and was staring in annoyance at the large gap before them. You could not see the bottom of the chasm. There was a machine that Bertrum had managed to fix, a contraption much like the one earlier. Yet it wasn’t big enough for all of them. He let out a heavy crackling sigh.

”Alright, who’s going first?”

Linda stepped in, no questions asked. Minette trailed behind her, testing to see if it was sturdy before climbing in with a pale face. Beatrice also stepped inside, the bowl creature changing into Boris, who was staring in fascination at it as he hopped in. Barney very thoroughly pushed a grumbling Joey forward. ‘If it drops at least he’ll die’ he whispered to Charlotte who gave him a glare. 

“Hope you don’t die!”, Joan called out.

”Wow, thanks, really reassuring.”, Beatrice murmured, only heard by Minette and Boris.

Bertrum pulled the lever and the small group trundled along the wire. The carriage shook and jittered like the one from earlier, but didn’t stop. Joey briefly looked over the edge. He quickly looked away. Minnette frowned. Was he...scared? She shook herself. No. No he was a monster she shouldn’t care for. They reached the end and got off, one by one, each relieved to be off. Minette waited for it to go back. It didn’t. Bertrum pulled the lever a few times but that had no effect. 

“Ok.”, Charlotte called out, “We’re stuck over here!”

”At least you don’t have Joey.”, Minette cried, ignoring her slight pang of guilt.

”Why do you all treat me like some horrible animal!?”, Joey said.

“Because you are.”, Linda deadpanned, “We’ll go this way, you guys handle what’s over that side!”

Barney gave a thumbs up and the other group began to remove the boards on the nearest door. Linda turned, giving Joey a quick glare, and led them through the next door. Down a hall, up a staircase and through another door and they were on the next level to this hell. Various bits and bobs littered the area and Minette saw a poster asking people to ‘Keep your voices down, we’re recording!’. She guessed this place was sound design.

”Sound design, huh.”, Linda said, looking behind doors like she expected her husband to emerge from one, “Wonder what abominations lurk here.”

Joey smiled, “Ah Yes, sound design. I always liked the sound deisgners, they were so quiet, never interfered or questioned anything. They would’ve made amazing Boris’s but they got out before-“, Joey stopped, feeling eyes staring at him, “Uh, well, never mind.”

Linda stopped and stared at the exit. It was a huge metal door with no levers. She studied it, noticing the rust and failing condition of the door in general. Cracking her knuckles she began to push against the door. A screw fell out. She looked back at the others.

”Could I get some help here please?”

Minette began to push, Joey giving his minimum too. The bowl was shifting into those forms again. The same as earlier with that projector. Beatrice sighed and noticed Boris watching. She held it out to him. He took it and watched as it changed into a Boris, seemingly calmed by his presence.

”Looks like it likes you.”, Beatrice cheerily remarked, “I don’t know what’s wrong with it. Ever since that projector it’s just been repeating the same forms in a loop. A head, an axe, the machine and a projector. I just don’t get it!”

Beatrice let out a frustrated sigh. Boris hesitantly patted her back. She smiled at him. It handed the bowl back to her and went to help the others. Unfortunately, there was a puddle of ink just before him and he slipped. Beatrice laughed as it looked about in bewilderment before shakily getting to it’s feet.

”Oh, you clumsy thing! You’re just like my husband!”, The smile vanished from her face, “Yeah...my husband.”, She placed the bowl on a nearby box and leaned against the wall.

”You must’ve met my husband at some point, considering you probably worked here. Maybe you didn’t know him, but he was the janitor. Well, the janitor to his own messes I suppose.”, She let out a sad chuckle, “Despite how miserable everyone around him was he was so positive. Even when life was difficult, he would always make time for me. I hate to think that he may be wandering around here as some kind of creature...”, She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, “Still”, She pushed herself away from the wall, “I probably shouldn’t be bothering you with all this.”

Boris just stared at her. The metal door fell to the ground with a loud slam. Beatrice snatched up the bowl and hurried after her. Boris came out of his trance and chased after them. There was another metal door at the end of the halls this time with a working lever. It had the same poster as elsewhere, except on the bottom the words **‘KEEP OUT’** were written in ink. Before anyone could retaliate, Linda had already pulled the lever down. The door let out a screech, as if it didn’t want to be opened, as it slid open. Linda stepped forward, the others following. The entire ground was covered in a layer of ink that reached up to their ankles. It was a large chamber that had flickering broken lights that dangled from the ceiling, crates and piles of discarded junk littered everywhere in towers. Directly ahead of them lay a body. It had a speaker stuck into it’s chest, a reel in it’s shoulder, wires hanging from it’s back. The thing in the bowl moved towards the side of it, arms reaching out. Beatrice held it up to her face. 

“You want to go _towards_ that thing?”, She asked,

”Ah”, Joey leaned in, “I may be able to explain why-“

There was the sound of boxes being knocked over. And then splashing of ink. Minette’s eyes widened in panic as she spotted something among the boxes. An inky figure, stumbling through the maze, heading for them. She looked down at the others.

”Hide.”, She whispered harshly. 

They didn’t wait. Beatrice, Boris and the bowl all squished together behind a tower of boxes, Joey pinning himself against the wall behind Minette. Linda scaled another tower, also able to spot the thing heading towards them. Minette watched, frozen still, as something barely human came around the corner. She had to admit, it was in better shape than the other one. It’s skin was the same yellow as the studio, wearing an inky black suit. It’s claws could rip you to shreds in an instant. What looked like a quill was stuck through it’s head diagonally, the tip of a fountain pen as replacement for a hand. Minette watched as it turned the corner into their hiding spot. It was then she saw it’s face. It had two empty holes for eyes, ink dripping down it’s face from them. It’s nose was missing, only two holes in the skull. It had no mouth either. Everyone remained still, as it stood there, watching with empty sockets. It stared forward, tilting it’s head a few times to pick up sound. It turned and walked away. Minette glanced over at her mother. Linda silently pointed toward a door on the other side of the maze. They both climbed down and whispered this information to the others. 

“We can check out the thing the bowl wants on the way through.”, Beatrice whispered into her ear.

Minette nodded. Slowly, careful not to make much noise, they crept through the ink. The silence clenched them like a fist, threatening them to dare make a sound. The creature’s footsteps neared once more and they hid. Minette’s heart skipped a beat as it walked past, briefly pausing to listen, but continuing it’s trek. She saw it head to the middle and her heart sank. It positioned itself directly beside the body they wished to reach. She felt a hand tap her shoulder. Boris pointed to rather unsteady stack nearby and made a pushing motion. She understood what it meant. They advanced, cautiously, as Boris snuck away. Beatrice watched him leave sadly. They watched the creature as it sat there. It was motionless, not even seeming to breathe. Still as a twisted statue. There was a loud crash and suddenly it snapped to life. It brandished it’s claws and ran towards the sound. They bolted towards the middle. Beatrice quickly held out the bowl. 

“Here. Here’s the thing you wanted.”, She hissed, “Show us what you want with it.”

There was a dripping sound and soon the whole creature had dripped out of the bowl. She watched in shocked confusion as the substance snaked up the body to the stub of a neck. Footsteps began to head back towards them. 

“Um...we should really get moving.”, Linda said, tugging on Beatrice.

It seemed like Boris was heading back in their direction. _Most likely assumed we were out already._ Minette turned her head back to the body. Only it wasn’t just a body anymore.

It was a person.

A head with two wide bright eyes was staring at them. It emitted a soft glow and was staring very intently at Beatrice. She dropped the bowl.

”Jesus Christ.”, She whispered under her breath, “Joey what the frick is this.”

”I believe it isn’t two halves of a person who got thrown in the ink.”

”Not a very clear or helpful answer-“

It was just then Boris ran towards them, his cartoon eyes shrinking in shock. A pile of stuff came crashing down as the beast knocked it all down. Everyone let out an assortment of shocked screams, driving the creature towards them. Grabbing the new creature the group got up and ran. The door was just ahead of them. Minette tried to pull the lever only to find it was stiff from disuse. She pulled and pulled but it just wouldn’t come down. The thing was coming fast. _Come on, please work._ The group went deeper into their panicked frenzy. The lever was slowly coming down, but not fast enough. Minette felt tears run down her face as the thing came into sight. She closed her eyes and screamed as it’s shadow was cast over them and...

There was a loud thump. She slowly opened her eyes, afraid of what she might see. Laying on the ground was the creature that had been pursuing them. Running a finger along her syringe, wiping the ink off with a flick, was there saviour. She tossed her messy hair back over her shoulder and looked down at the thing with a single eye. She sighed before looking up at the group.

”I never liked that one.”, The angel said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOD IS WRITERS BLOCK A PAIN. This chapter took so long to write, sorry. But I have a break coming up so I’ll have more time to write. Hope you enjoyed and I’ll see you whenever.


	8. Heaven Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet you saviour.
> 
> Or murderer.

The figure flicked back her dishevelled ink black hair. Out of the many horrors that had been encountered throughout the studio, this was the most human, seeing as it was capable of speech and perhaps has a conscience as it saved them. Though it’s face told another story, half of it completely ruined, two horns jutting from her skull and a bleeding cut across her throat. She looked expectantly at the group, not even blinking.

**“No thank you’s? Pity. I almost wanted to let you live.”**

She moved her eyes across the group. She looked twice at the thing that was once in the bowl before locking onto Boris. She smiled. 

**“Well..Seeing the current circumstances I guess I wont kill you.”**

And she strutted over to Boris, who looked completely blank to the entire situation, and seized his arm to drag him off. Beatrice grabbed Boris by both his shoulders and yanked him away from her with a cold look. The figure crossed her arms and looked at her like she was stupid. This clearly enraged Beatrice further, but she was surprisingly good at hiding it.

“Excuse me, but it’s basic manners to ask for something first.”

The ice glazed over the polite voice warned her to not try again. The Angel? Devil? rolled her eye and turned her head, the motion making the half halo on her head bounce.

**“God, you’re like that fool Henry-“**

“Henry!”, Minette and Linda exclaimed in unison.

”That’s my dad!”, Minette exclaimed, “Oh please, do you know where he is?”

Her eyes snapped from a hard scowl to a sad, soft, gaze. 

 _“Oh..”,_ She said in a higher voice, _“The last time I saw him was when I died. I don’t know what happened after I fell to the ground.”_

Minette would’ve questioned why her voice was higher and why said she had ‘died’ but she had just decided to roll with the studio’s oddities. The thing inched closer to Boris, only to be met with a cold stare yet again. She looked over at Joey. She stared at him intently. Minette could tell she didn’t have fond memories of whoever she was remembering.

_“You look familiar.”_

Joey shook his head as if to go ‘no, no I don’t’. Linda, an evil glint in her eye, slid up next to the angel.

”Oh, that’s Joey Drew.”

The softer side vanished. Joey’s eye expanded briefly with fear before he put on a persona of calm. The Angel took slow steps towards him before stopping mere inches away from his face.

“Miss Campbell-“

He recoiled from her slap, wailing about how every ink creature seemed intent on doing him harm. She glared untold she got his attention once more.

 **“It’s. Alice.”** , She hissed, **“I’m surprised to see you down here Mr Drew.”**

She spat the words ‘Mr Drew! like they were some disgusting thing. Joey ignored it.

”These idi....people, dragged me down here to look for one person. It ridiculous how there’s such a big search group for ONE person and I just don’t understand why’d they’d drag a slow, weak man like me along.”

Despite him being in conversation with ‘Alice’ he glared at the rest of the group as he spoke.

‘Alice’ looked him up and down, **“You’re not looking too good. Want me to rip the wrinkles off your face?”**

Joey chuckled, half way between happiness and spite, “Though I would like to be rid of my age I still think I’m doing better than you. Having my whole face and all.”

**“Better to have half a good face than an ugly one.”**

“Better to actually still be alive.”

They glared intensely at each other for the next few minutes. The door very very loudly screeched open at an awkwardly slow speed before they could actually get through.

”Well, though I’d love to stay and continue to stare at those flesh strings of yours,”, He pushed Boris towards the door, almost as if to spite her, “We have better places to be!”

 **“Oh really?”,** She asked, stroking her syringe, **“I was just about to make experiments out of you people.”**

Minette held out her hand, “Wait. We’re planning to get out of this studio.”

**“And why would I care?”**

“Because, if you help us find my dad without hurting anyone, you could escape.”

She considered it silently for a moment, **“But...I’m not perfect yet.”** , She cradled her broken face, “ _No one would want me.”_

“No one would want any ink monster.”, Minette said bluntly, “Your wasting your time trying to fix yourself. But, if you do escape, you would be able to live in a house with a functioning water supply, food, sunlight, hygiene, you know, all the stuff you _don’t_ have down here.”

The other looked at her like she was mad. Alice looked like she wanted to strangle and hug Minette at the exact same time. And Boris just sort of stared into the middle space. ‘Alice’ let out an annoyed grunt.

 **“The _other_ Angel and her pet Boris killed me.”**, Alice muttered, **“Knowing those two, they probably took your father into imprisonment, considering they wouldn’t understand what he was.”**

Minette turned to group and smiled, “To the other Angel and Boris we go.”

They all marched out, Alice lingering behind. She looked back at the corpse. It had so much thick ink, enough to maybe fix her mouth. But, somewhere in her, a voice, one that sounded a lot like someone she once knew, told her otherwise. She shook her head, turned away and chased after the group.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to ‘I don’t have time for this because school’s a dick and so’s my attention span’. I’m going to try and release chapters maybe once every month. But the curse of constant homework may interfere with that.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.


	9. Regarding This work

I have slowly been losing passion for this story since I started writing it and have decided to stop. I have been balancing too many projects at once and with the new bendy game I haven’t felt like this story is needed anymore. I will be continuing with other things in the ‘Stains’ Series. Thank you for reading this story and I apologise to those who wanted to see more of it.

-MagieFish


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